Abstract
Objective: HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) levels in smokers are reported to be lower than in non-smokers. On the other hand, drinking is known to increase HDL-C. Moreover, HDL-C has also been found to decrease when weight increases. However, while it has been reported that non-smokers weigh more than smokers and the mutual effects of smoking, drinking and weight gain on HDL-C are not clear. In this study, the objective was to investigate the effects of drinking initiation and non-smoking on weight gain and HDL cholesterol in male smokers.
Methods: The study subjects were 10,765 male smokers whose response was “non- drinking” in an interview in FY 2008, and who had undergone consecutive annual health check-ups at Shinkokai Medical Corporation in FY2008 and FY2009 consecutively, and grouped into five groups by the interview answers in FY2009. The 4,387 people whose response was “non-smoking + non-drinking” two years in a row were group (a). The 5,507 whose response was “smoking + non-drinking” in FY 2009 were group (b). The 278 whose response was “non-smoking + non-drinking” in FY2009 were group (c). The 539 whose response was “smoking + drinking” in FY2009 were group (d). The 54 whose response was “non-smoking + drinking” in FY2009 were group (e). To compare the mean changes from 2008 to 2009, repeated measures ANOVA was conducted by the general linear model.
Results: From FY 2008 to FY2009, body weight and HDL-C in FY2008 and FY2009 both increased significantly in group (c) (“non smoking + non-drinking” Body weight: +1.25 kg, HDL-C: +2.2 mg/dL). In the other groups there was a small amount of weight gain. HDL-C decreased in all groups other than group (c).
Conclusion: In smokers, the influence of non-smoking on weight gain is greater than that of drinking. Thus, drinking may not necessarily lead to an increase in HDL-C.
